White House denounces Amash amendment as dismantling of NSA

On the eve of a congressional discussion that may lend to ending the National Security Agency’s mass collection of domestic phone records, the White House made the rare move late Tuesday of issuing a statement condemning proposed legislation.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday evening that a
bipartisan-supported amendment expected to go before a vote later
this week would “hastily dismantle” a key counterterrorism
tool used by the United States intelligence community if
approved.

The amendment, authored by Rep. Justin Amash (R-Michigan) and
supported by democratic colleague Rep. John Conyers, would forbid
the NSA from further interpreting Section 215 of the Patriot Act
in the manner that has allowed the agency to routinely collect
the daily phone records of millions of Americans for the past
several years.

The proposal, wrote Amash, “Ends authority for the blanket
collection of records under the Patriot Act” and “Bars the
NSA and other agencies from using Section 215 of the Patriot Act
to collect records, including telephone call records, that
pertain to persons who are not subject to an investigation under
Section 215.”

Responding to the White House’s remark, Amash wrote on Twitter,
“When's the last time a president put out an emergency
statement against an amendment? The Washington elites fear
liberty. They fear you.”

When's the last time a president put out an emergency statement
against an amendment? The Washington elites fear liberty. They
fear you.

Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, the
federal government can collect data on foreign citizens and, in
the process, pick up the communications of Americans engaged in
conversations where at least one party is located abroad. Leaked
NSA documents published by the Guardian and Washington Post
recently have revealed that the intelligence community collects
more than just that, though, going as far as to put the telephony
metadata of millions of Americans regularly in the hands of Uncle
Sam even in the absence of probable cause thanks to FISA court
orders reauthorized every 90 days.

Despite the blowback caused by the leaks, the FISA court confirmed last week that it has again reauthorized
the program for the next three months. If Rep. Amash has his way,
however, that could all soon end — and much to the chagrin of the
White House.

Amash admitted earlier this week that the amendment has been
accepted by the House Committee on Rules and would be debated in
Washington, DC as early as Wednesday evening with a Thursday
morning vote likely to occur. From there, approval in Congress
would mean the Amash amendment would find its way tacked on to a
Department of Defense appropriations bill that Congress would
later be asked to authorize and, in turn, end the NSA
surveillance program.

But before lawmakers are even presented with an opportunity to
discuss the amendment on the floor of Congress, Carney wrote late
Tuesday that the White House will not be supporting Amash’s
efforts.

“In light of the recent unauthorized disclosures, the
President has said that he welcomes a debate about how best to
simultaneously safeguard both our national security and the
privacy of our citizens,” Carney wrote. “However, we
oppose the current effort in the House to hastily dismantle one
of our Intelligence Community’s counterterrorism tools.”

“This blunt approach is not the product of an informed, open
or deliberative process,” added Carney. “We urge the House
to reject the Amash Amendment, and instead move forward with an
approach that appropriately takes into account the need for a
reasoned review of what tools can best secure the nation.”

The attempt from the White House to influence this week’s vote
marks a rare occasion in which the president’s press secretary
has publically denounced a lawmaker’s legislative efforts ahead
of discussion. It also comes but moments after Gen. Keith
Alexander, the director of the NSA, held two closed-door meetings on the Hill to discuss the
amendment with members of Congress.

"In advance of anticipated action on amendments to the DoD
Appropriations bill, Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of
the House Intelligence Committee invites your Member to attend a
question and answer session with General Keith B. Alexander of
the National Security Agency," lawmakers was told early
Tuesday.

According to the Guardian, Gen. Alexander then hosted two
meetings that evening — one for Republicans and another for
Democrats — in which only attendees with top-secret security
clearances could hear the NSA’s side before the amendment goes to
the floor.

After the NSA chief held his powwow with Republican members of
Congress, Rep. Amash described the event to the Guardian as
cordial but added, "I don't believe anyone's mind was changed
one way or the other.”

Members of Congress, Amash tweeted early Wednesday, will have to
answer a simple question: “Do you oppose blanket,
suspicionless collection of all Americans' phone records?”

Today, Members of Congress will have to answer a simple Q: Do
you oppose blanket, suspicionless collection of all Americans'
phone records?

Amash, 33, is the sixth youngest member of the House of
Representatives. He was elected to the House in 2010 and is
considered by his peers to be strongly libertarian. In 2011,
Amash was instrumental in raising awareness of the National Defense Authorization Act before it
went up for vote. It was ultimately approved and as a result
authorized the government to indefinitely detain American
citizens suspected of involvement in terrorism. In 2012, Amash
co-authorized an amendment to the NDAA which would have ended the
indefinite detention powers. That amendment was ultimately
rejected.